Consider “Othello” as a domestic tragedy

Answer

 Consider “Othello” as a domestic tragedy.

“Othello” (1622) is the best example of a domestic tragedy written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). It deals with the personal life of Othello and his wife Desdemona. A domestic tragedy is a kind of tragedy that describes the private life of ordinary people. In other words, it is a tragedy that focuses on the dramatic stories of middle and lower-class people concerned with everyday problems, including poverty, relationships, crime, intrigues and sickness. This type of tragedy was very popular in the days of Shakespeare.

Features of Domestic Tragedy: To describe “Othello” as a domestic tragedy, we need to know the features of domestic tragedy. There are sundry characteristic features of a domestic tragedy such as the ordinary work of life, Presentation of domestic problems, unhappy marriage, protagonist belonging to a lower or middle-class family, conspiracy or intrigues, foreign setting, superstitious belief, common language, intimate relationship, etc.

The Protagonist belongs to a Lower or Middle-class Family: In a domestic tragedy, the Protagonist belongs to a lower or middle-class family. We know that Othello, the protagonist of the tragedy ‘Othello,” belongs to a lower-class family. He is a citizen of Morocco. He comes to Venice for his financial progress. By using his bravery and war skills, he was able to overcome the financial problem and became the army general of Venice. He has gained upper rank and mastership in the court of the Duke of Venice. He was also able to marry Desdemona, daughter of Brabantio, a senator of Venice. Since the protagonist of the tragedy belongs to a lower-middle-class family, in this respect, Othello is a domestic tragedy.

Presentation of the Ordinary Work of Life: Presentation of the ordinary work of life is one of the prime issues of a domestic tragedy. In Othello, it is well described that every single character is busy with their everyday activities. It presents domestic problems like love affairs, court, marriage, conspiracy, conflict of human heart, professions, natural disasters, etc., which cause human suffering and death.

Marriage: Marriage is